The future is very bright as Holland treat Euro fans to another orange goal feast

Catch your breath because the chances are that no one will be able to catch Holland. Not quite total football. More like total control.

Clockwork Orange: Dutch players soak up the acclaim from their fans after tearing France apart with a scintillating display.

Marco van Basten's team have caught the imagination, but can they carry this on? Oh yes please, as long as the team play like this and the stadia are awash with those spectacular orange shirts.

They should be wearing green, for go. Who would be Italy or France now? They play each other in the Letzigrund in Zurich on Tuesday knowing that it will be a fight to the death. One, if not both, will be out and paying the price for their oversized, inflated egos.

Holland were awesome last Monday, embarrassing world champions Italy and rivalling Portugal to be the team of the tournament. It was 3-0 then, last night it was four, and every one was a gem.

Clockwork Orange has been four years in the making and Van Basten, who scored a stunning goal in the final against Russia at Euro 88, is timing his run to perfection.

He will leave the national team after this tournament to take up the top job at Ajax, but his legacy will be a side that plays for freedom and flair. Just the way we like it.

Goals from Dirk Kuyt, a Britishstyle bulldog in a team that is playing beautiful football, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and that wonderful talent, Wesley Sneijder, confirmed the Class of 2008.

"We were happy to beat the world champions Italy in the first game and then to beat a former world champion like France," said Van Basten.

Sheer delight: Holland coach Marco Van Basten celebrates as his side score again.

"To beat them 3-0 and 4-1, we are happy and content. France tried everything, but I want to compliment my defence. They put us under a lot of pressure, but we scored some great goals."

Holland are a joy to watch. Who would have thought Ruud van Nistelrooy could pull off the 'threepoint turn', the dragback that once belonged exclusively to Zinedine Zidane, in the middle of the pitch?

No doubt he will watch re-runs of the cheeky backheel that eventually set up the goal for Robin van Persie in the 59th minute a million times, too. Fancy at times, this team is frightening at others.

Take Kuyt. The Liverpool striker, the man who could not buy a goal for his country at the 2006 World Cup, is in his element. Rough, rugged and ruthless.

He is the kind of player who wears his heart on his sleeve and puts his head in where it hurts. That is precisely what he did when he held off a pathetic challenge by Florent Malouda to steer Rafael van der Vaart's corner in the 10th minute.

When will the misery end for France? Not any time soon, not while Thierry Henry and his teammates are looking for someone to stroke their egos.

Raymond Domench's team are on the ropes. "We're not happy," he said. "When you lose 4-1 it hurts. Holland may not play with the same energy against Romania and now all we can do is pray."

Manchester United's Edwin van der Sar was faultless again, playing well enough to be considered the best keeper in the world. Better, even, than Chelsea's Petr Cech.

Twice last night he saved well from Sidney Govou, then he picked out Franck Ribery's effort when the midfielder tricked his way past the Dutch defence and he also denied Henry in an outstanding first half.

Van Basten was brave at the break, bringing on Arjen Robben for Orlando Engelaar and he engineered their second. Van Nistelrooy's superb flick found Robben charging down the left and Robin van Persie, another impressive substitute, sent a crisp, sidefooted volley beyond Gregory Coupet.

They had a foot in the door of the last eight, but France finally responded. Willy Sagnol's 71st minute cross wrong-footed the Dutch and a mere touch from Henry was enough to beat Van der Sar. Game on? No, it was game over.

Holland responded magnificently, in a way the top teams always do when the opposition has just pricked their ego.

Van Basten has an ability to change games, intuition that is unrivalled in this tournament, and he will be confident that this team has the firepower to reach the final.

That is the target - it has to be, after this awesome attacking display. Wesley Sneijder's superb weighted pass, better than the finish itself, found Robben running on Sagnol's blindside a minute after the French breakthrough and the former Chelsea winger walloped his effort into the the net.

Sneijder then rounded off proceedings when he turned on the edge of the area and belted a blistering shot beyond Coupet. No problem for the Dutch. Big, big problems for France.

HOLLAND (4-2-3-1): Van der Sar; Boulahrouz, Ooijer, Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst; De Jong, Engelaar (Robben 46min); Kuyt (Van Persie 55), Van der Vaart (Bouma 78), Sneijder; Van Nistelrooy. Booked: Ooijer.

FRANCE (4-4-1-1): Coupet; Sagnol, Thuram, Gallas, Evra; Toulalan, Makelele, Govou (Anelka 75), Malouda (Gomis 60); Ribery; Henry. Booked: Makele, Toulalan. Man of the match: Wesley Sneijder.

Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany).